49ers head coach candidates: Vic Fangio has expressed interest to front office, per Eric Branch

The San Francisco 49ers head coaching search is officially underway, as the team parted ways with Jim Harbaugh immediately after Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. We don't know exactly who the 49ers have in mind for their next head coach, but the list of potential candidates could be extensive.

One person who apparently has thrown his hat in the ring is defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. There have been previous reports that defensive line coach Jim Tomsula is interested, but Eric Branch had the most concrete report about Fangio's interest. According to Branch, Fangio has actually expressed to the front office that he is interested in the job. Additionally, Branch reported Fangio will not follow Harbaugh to his next job.

Fangio is an intriguing option, although one that would surprise me if it came to fruition. I think Fangio could make a great head coach. He commands respect because he is not going to beat around the bush. His press conferences have been fantastic because he is generally very blunt in his comments.

However, that could be the reason he does not get the 49ers head coaching job. He might be too blunt for Trent Baalke and Jed York. I don't know that they are looking entirely for a "yes man" per se, but I wonder if Fangio is a little too set in his ways to be the guy they want as the point person. I could be wrong on that, because my knowledge of Fangio leans heavily on what we see in his press conferences, but that's just my guess at this point.

Plenty are calling for an offensive-minded head coach, but I could live with a defensive-minded head coach. It would just depend on the kind of offensive coaching staff with which he surrounds himself. If that defensive coach got the right coordinator and position coaches, we very well could see great success.